Extended Spin
by Howlitzer
Summary: Blood, sweat, tears...and vinyl. An unshakable soul aims to scratch his way to the top of the world. Along the way, his own beat will encounter many different melodies...and if he has what it takes, the world will witness the greatest soundtrack ever.
1. Good Morning

New story, here. Trying something in an AU setting of Naruto. Hope you readers enjoy, and anyone with feedback, comments, criticisms, or whatever...scream at me, as always. I want to raise the bar here, and reviews/PMs help me out a lot.

Thanks in advance. Hopefully you'll like it, and I've gotten a lot of inspiration from reading good fics. We'll see if I've absorbed anything in the end.

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><p>Extended Spin<p>

[Alternate Universe]

* * *

><p>The sunlight filtered through his apartment window, hitting him gently as he lay on his old couch. He had picked it up a garage sale, luckily. At the very least, it took up space in his near-empty living space.<p>

His room had one bed and a dresser-drawer, nothing else. Not like he really slept in there much, anyways.

Two pairs of sneakers at the front door, one orange and one black to go with his standard outfits, which were variations on either black or orange.

And at a table in front of him as he sat up on the couch, an array of mixing equipment. His prized turntables rested on a separate table in one corner, near a stack of vinyl records. A pair of headphones rested on the stack, the long spring-like cord dangling above the wood floor.

The young man scratched his head and walked to the bathroom in his orange pajamas, getting himself ready for the day. While he brushed his teeth, he powered up the black laptop in the kitchen, checking over his music samples and e-mail with one hand while popping a bagel into the toaster with the other. Snapping a cord into one of the jacks on the laptop, he fiddled with a few dials on the nearby mixer as he listened to one piece of work that he finished last night. Or…thought he had finished.

"…Drums still don't sound right. Ugh…"

He marched back to the bathroom and finished his clean-up before getting dressed. He wore simple things, usually – today it was a solid orange shirt and black jeans. The weather was warm enough, so he forewent the jacket for the time being.

The toaster produced a freshly toasted bagel. Reliable as always. The blonde spread peanut butter over the two halves before pushing them together and wrapping it all up in a paper towel. He found his black backpack and after putting the laptop in its own case, put it into the pack. His headphones went around his neck, a flash drive into his pocket. He picked up an old needle for the 'tables and examined it before putting it into his pocket as well.

With all of that, he set out.

* * *

><p>He stepped off of the bus and took a look at the building numbers to get a sense of his direction. After making sure he wasn't lost, he made his way down the city block and towards his destination.<p>

Leaf City wasn't really an inherently good or bad place. It had its share of crime and corruption, but really, what city didn't? The streets were typical asphalt and cement, with some wear and tear, the potholes occasionally sticking out like a sore thumb and diverting traffic a few inches left or right.

The buildings ranged from ultra-modern to standard urban fare to traditional Japanese, and that was just the immediate area. There seemed to be a near infinite number of styles and types of structures within the city. The streets and buses running above ground seemed to be the only constant, since the trains were stylized depending on what routes they ran, as they moved while elevated high above the ground or running below it.

After about ten minutes of walking, one Naruto Uzumaki stopped in front of a door on the fifteenth floor of a high-rise apartment. He knocked, unsure of what would happen when the door opened. Well, if the door opened.

A small click sounded, but the blonde-haired boy noticed something very off about it. He noticed it was…

"…Desert Eagle…?" he muttered absent-mindedly.

His blue eyes widened as he leaped out of the way, a shot bursting through the door and into the wall behind him.

As he suspected, nobody even came out to check on the trouble. Either were scared or used to it by now.

"Who the fuck's there, man?"

"…Good morning to you, too…" Naruto muttered, picking himself up off of the floor. He turned as a guy wearing a wife-beater and faded jeans pointed his weapon in his face.

"Who're you?"

"Uzumaki. I've got your beats."

"You strapped?"

"No."

"Where they at?"

"Left pocket," he said without moving.

"…It's cool. Come inside and give me a listen." The black man stuffed his pistol behind his back and ushered Naruto in. Once inside, the blonde unloaded his laptop and made the necessary connections before starting up his tracks.

"Sounds dope! I heard you were something, man."

"Glad you like it."

"Hold on a moment, man." He disappeared into a back room and came out with a wad of cash, tossing it to Naruto quickly. "Enjoy, you earned it. This shit is dope," he said with a suppressed glee.

Naruto flipped through the bills and stifled a frown.

Less than half of what he was promised. And he likely wouldn't get a mention for doing the beats, either. But…had to take what you could get nowadays.

"Thanks. Hopefully I'll see you around."

"No doubt, no doubt. Take it easy, brother."

Naruto packed up and made his way out of the apartment, stuffing the money into his wallet. He took out his transit pass at the same time and sprinted for the bus that was coming down the road just then.

He needed to make another stop today.

* * *

><p>The brown-haired girl turned her head as the door chimes rang out. Since she didn't have all that many customers this time of day, she could guess who was coming through the door next by the quick ringing of the chimes as the door opened and closed.<p>

"Yo," he said to her before disappearing into a row of vinyl records.

She smiled as he scanned through the records with interest and wonder. An interesting guy, that one…he was a regular customer, too, which was always nice. And it looked like he was actually into the records he bought, not just buying them for some grand and pretentious collection or the like. Business was business, but still…Tenten felt that she wanted real, genuine customers to buy the things off of her shelves. Even if it meant going out of business…those records needed to be truly taken care of.

And she knew that Naruto would do so, as he had always done. Handling everything with the utmost care, whether it was his equipment or music. She admitted that he seemed like the clumsy, aloof type.

Well, he was…but when it came to music, he was suddenly on a completely different level. It was a beautiful thing.

She patted the twin buns on her head, making sure they were in place before she started her maintenance, following the young man into the shelves of vinyl discs and dusting lightly.

"This one's unlabeled…no name," he said to seemingly no-one in particular.

"What's the number on it?" she replied casually.

"It says…25-23."

"Uh…_Holy Thursday_, I think."

"David Axelrod?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

Another period of silence passed between them, before she spoke again.

"You sent those beats off, right?"

"Yeah, earlier."

"What'd he think?"

"He said they were dope," Naruto said with a shrug. "I won't lie, it wasn't my best work. I messed up the drums on one track."

"He still liked it?" she inquired.

"Apparently."

"Was that the one with that Motown sample?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Sounded incomplete to me," she said.

"Me too. Apparently they're taking whatever these days. Mind you…I got shot at while delivering."

She took a look over at him. "Seriously?"

"Desert Eagle, right through the front door." He added the sound effect for good measure as she shook her head.

"Sheesh…hey, don't go too far for these characters, now. It's bad enough you're getting screwed out of royalties."

The radio blared up with a song, and Tenten moved across the room to switch the station. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she did so.

"Another one…Naruto…" That background was one she had heard him work with just a few months ago.

"It's not that great a song, anyways. Some people say business is business…that's just not me."

There was a sincerity in his eyes that calmed Tenten at that moment. Maybe he wasn't rich and famous, but he didn't mind. Well…neither did she, then.

"You're right. I guess I should just take it easy."

"…Tenten?"

"Yeah?"

He gave her a smile. "Thanks for looking out."

"You…don't have to thank me for that."

"I'm doing it anyways, though."

"Heh…yeah, I guess so." She sighed and gave him a smile as he walked to the counter with a bundle of records and a turntable needle in one hand.

"Oh, replacement?"

"Spare. Can't be too careful."

"True." She pulled open a drawer and found the piece she needed quickly. For some reason, she had set up a neat little spot just for the things that Naruto might need when he came in, besides records. Maybe she valued him more than she thought…

"Mixer come in?" he asked with anticipation.

"Not yet."

"Damn. Oh, well…" He shrugged. "I can wait a bit longer."

"Listen, if you need any help paying it off…"

"Don't worry about that. I'll be fine."

"Naruto." There was a serious look in her eyes. "Don't overdo it. I know the situation, okay?"

"…I promise I won't. It'll be okay. You'll see."

"I trust you, then."

"Heh, I never go back on my word, you know that!"

"That's true…just be careful."

"I will. See ya, Tenten."

"Later, Naruto."

She watched him leave the store, a strange feeling of melancholy washing over her. He wasn't doing as well as it seemed. She knew it.

She just hoped he really could keep his promise…

* * *

><p>Night's curtain fell. The beginning of a new act.<p>

Naruto stepped out of his apartment, carrying a heavy-duty suitcase along with his usual equipment. Tonight, he'd be doing a few easy gigs, getting paid for simply mixing tunes and having proper timing. He was good at that.

Thing was, he wanted to do a bit more. He was known as a disc jockey, or DJ. But what he aspired to be was a turntablist – someone who didn't just play records, but made music by using the records themselves, the stylus or 'needle', and the mixer in between them to make music. Real music.

Something that he could grasp, get control of. Something that was special, in a weird sort of way. Making beats was all well and fine, but…he didn't want to get famous as a producer for a bunch of flavour-of-the-month rappers or vocalists. No, he wanted to make it to the top on his own merits, through his scratching.

He had no idea how good he was in comparison to the competition. He'd been practicing with his own equipment, but found he needed a better mixer. Maybe once that came in, he'd register for some events.

For now, though…it was time to work the circuit.

* * *

><p>She turned her head away from the crowd around her, looking for something to disrupt the monotony of what she was stuck in.<p>

Nothing.

What a bother.

She brushed her blonde hair to the side for a moment, before letting it fall over the left side of her face as it always did. Her eyes were a light blue, yet carried no brightness in them. She was sick of the scene and bored of what was around her.

Sure, she was famous. Sure, she had brought big acts to the big screen and the small screen and all the screens in between, above and beyond. Didn't matter when everything was so _fake_.

Damn…when had she realized this? A month ago? Two? Ten? Yet she still attended these lame parties when asked. Image mattered, sadly, so she had to appear at all of these little events and show her face, just to show everyone that she cared.

Not that she actually gave a damn.

The club was packed, as usual. Some A-listers had come out. More B-listers. Lots more C-listers. D-listers? A grade too low for this event, sorry.

Though there were common folk, but they probably paid an arm and a leg to get in. Maybe sold a kidney on top of it.

Ino Yamanaka sighed and took a seat, with the red dress she wore hugging her curves gently. A string of pearls was around her neck, tastefully matched with her diamond bracelet and red pumps. She clicked open her small red purse and drew out a compact mirror, checking herself over. Wouldn't do to look any less than perfect.

She caught a large entourage coming through the front door in the reflection of her mirror. One look was all she needed to figure out who they were. The so-called 'guests of honour'.

About a year ago, she had managed to discover a promising young artist, who went by the name of Young Bull on the streets. She had been impressed with who he was, with his smart lifestyle and convictions. He was a kid from the ghetto, so what? He was a damn good rapper _and_ vocalist. Not too many of those types nowadays.

It took a grand total of 2 months, 15 days, and 4 hours for her to utterly regret that decision. She had created a monster, and didn't see it until it was too late. In record time, he had changed into the exact opposite of what he had started out as – an _intelligent_ rapper. Now it was about money. Appealing to the masses. And more money.

Ino felt guilty. She felt dirty and ashamed for what had transpired. And now, looking at Bull and his entourage striding up, she knew that this was a juggernaut of her own creation. Although she had to admit…whoever he was tapping for his beats these days was something else entirely. The drums didn't sound right on one of the samples she heard recently…but other than that, everything had been pretty tight in terms of backgrounds.

As she listened to the murmur of the crowd, she learned that one of Bull's protégés was stepping up tonight. B-Money, he called himself. Classy.

There was a local DJ on the 'ones and twos', as they were called. Some kid…she didn't bother to take in his name.

He mixed in songs throughout the night, pulling some classics up every now and again. At the very least, he had good taste in material.

Finally, there was buzz about a 'world premiere' by B-Money coming up. A vinyl record was handed to the DJ, who accepted it skilfully and laid it out on the turntable. The instrumental started, and the kid started rhyming over it.

_Garbage,_ Ino thought bitterly. _But the masses will lap it up like nothing else…even though I could tear him apart with something off the top of my head. This punk probably took half a year to come up with this…_

She winced at a cheesy line and cast a passing glance at the young DJ…then noticed him rifling through a crate of records. What was he…?

He popped back up, obviously satisfied with his choice, and placed the record on the opposite turntable. After a few seconds, the song carried into the chorus.

And it was the most beautiful thing Ino had heard in her life.

Young Bull's posse looked back and cast a focused death glare at the blonde-haired DJ. He blinked his blue eyes twice before speaking into the microphone, noting everyone staring at him.

"Uh…fixed the drums."


	2. The Audacity of Hope 1

Naruto plopped down on his couch, opening the container of steaming-hot ramen he had bought earlier down the block. Ichiraku Ramen was the stuff he swore by, ever since the old man and his daughter had invited him into their shop for lunch one day.

At the behest of that nice lady from the night before, he had bought a television to keep up with the latest news. Well, _he _hadn't bought it, just received it from her. It was pretty big, but not cumbersome. Just right for watching whatever was on.

It also had quite a few inputs, so he could hook his laptop up to it and take a look at a few things when he needed to. Pretty cool stuff, he figured.

_As everyone knows, the talent that comes out from Leaf City Records seems to be never-ending, and this guy's no exception. The young prodigy known as Sasuke Uchiha has won his twentieth competition on the European front. If you've been keeping score, his win rate has been locked in at 100 percent, in over 78 tourneys total!_

_But it seems he has an even loftier goal in mind. We talked to him after the scratch battle to get his thoughts._

"_I only have one purpose here. To gain more and more power, and to surpass my older brother…nay, not merely surpass. I will crush him. And if all of you have any amount of intelligence left, you will not get in the way of my ambition. That is all."_

_Cold words, there. Itachi Uchiha, the once rising star of Leaf City Records, had this to say in response._

"_Sasuke…is the only one at the moment who can challenge me. This is the power of Uchiha. However, he is still…too weak. His style will not surpass mine at this rate…it never will. And he is, sadly, the closest to doing so. No one can stop me."_

_Ouch. Itachi's no slouch, either. He's won all 208 scratch battle competitions he's participated in, not counting the sheer amount of freestyle battles he's done in various clubs and at many different events. He's a living legend, to say the least, and his infamy has only grown since leaving Leaf City Records for the upstart Akatsuki Group, a motley crew of talented musicians that are poised to take the world by storm. Led by the legendary Pain, of 'The Six Paths of Pain', Akatsuki has opened up a bold new front on the music scene, and listeners are reaping the benefits._

Naruto watched the broadcast with interest. There was a lot going on lately…that Sasuke character was really good as well. He had watched the earlier clip with the two Uchiha brothers battling each other in a freestyle competition. Itachi's superior skills had won him the match handily, but Sasuke was pulling some off-the-wall stuff regardless. He wondered if he could reach that level with enough practice, or if it really was only the 'genius' types that could get that far in the end.

He slurped up some more of his ramen and flipped to another relevant channel.

"_Miss Yamanaka, are you starting to regret scouting Young Bull with the recent headlines showing up?"_

"_Look…he's in a phase right now. I'm hopeful that he'll come out of it, and will go back to his bread and butter at some point in time. I think this is just an experimental phase for him and his group."_

"_So you believe that he'll be able to turn himself around?"_

"_Most definitely. I'm a believer in this guy, I mean he's put out some thought-provoking music early on. Everything should be fine in a little while."_

Naruto frowned at her words. He could tell that she didn't really feel that way at all…she didn't have any hope in that guy turning around in any amount of time. He didn't see why she should waste her time, anyways…

* * *

><p><strong>The Audacity of Hope, Part 1<strong>

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><p>It was the night before, after B-Money's 'world premiere' single was supposed to drop. Ino Yamanaka stood up to get a look at the young man who was on the turntables, her gaze fixed on him and her ears tuned to the music that was bouncing off of the club's walls.<p>

This was…music. How long had it been…?

It was all so soulful…and all it took was a drumbeat. Everything matched up and started to come through a lot more clearly. This wasn't a rudimentary beat anymore, this was something magical, something inspiring. By the look in those blue eyes of his, Ino knew that he wasn't some seasoned, jaded DJ who had meticulously calculated the right thing to play, just to get the people's attention. This wasn't something planned out, or measured up, or any of that. This was pure.

B-Money had frozen up for a bit, trying to figure out the nuances in the new instrumental. It wasn't hard, though…well, at least not for her. Maybe he was a different story.

It was all of a sudden that a muscular young man with a black bandanna wrapped around his head stepped up, putting on his fitted cap and shifting it to one side before taking the microphone from the dazed kid. His sunglasses obscured his eyes, but Ino could see him, beneath the excessively expensive clothes and jewellery. That kid, earnest and sincere, from what seemed like so long ago…

He flowed over the new beat, taking rhymes off of the top of his head and placing them perfectly onto the rhythm, never once letting up or stumbling over himself. Metaphors and similes all spilling out, onto a bright canvas. The things she had heard on his first album. The things that she had always wanted to hear.

But then, he started breaking her heart when he slowed down and started simplifying everything, reducing himself to one-liners and drug verses…taking the things that he brought before and shoving them away. The crowd was eating _this _up. It was what they wanted to hear, what they expected of him nowadays.

Catching the despair in her eyes, Naruto surreptitiously lowered the volume on the beat until it disappeared. And along with it, Ino's hope.

There was a roar in the crowd as he finished, and he looked back at her for a brief moment before turning to accept his rightly deserved praise. She could do nothing but look away, hurt in her eyes.

Naruto resumed his work; only this time he took his time with each song that he played, trying to find something that would soothe someone's hurt for at least a little while.

He started to pack up as the next DJ came in, and planned the route for his next destination while organizing the milk crate full of records. A few shadows hung over him, and he looked up, the flashing lights of the club dazzling him for a moment before he recognized the bodies.

"Oh, hey."

"Yo…that wasn't cool." B-Money made his presence known, the diamond bracelets on his wrists shining with light. "What'd you do that for, fool?"

"Do what?"

"You stepped on my flow."

"I didn't do any of that. I just fixed the drums. Like I told you, I didn't like them."

"What you doing messing with my-"

"You mean _my_ beat, right? I told you, it wasn't complete. I completed it. End of story," Naruto said with annoyance. "Listen, I'm sorry about tonight, but nobody blames you. Nobody even cares, you know?"

"I care, motherfucker. Get up. Get your ass up!"

"Hey, what's your deal?"

"I said, get the fuck-"

A clicking of heels sounded behind the posse, and they turned to see who it was. A woman in a red dress…

"Something I can help you with, Miss A&R?" B-Money asked with a hint of irritation.

"Lay off of him," Ino said coldly.

"Or else what?"

"You know what." The slit in the side of her skirt revealed a glint of metal on her thigh. "What, you didn't think I was 'hood enough to handle you bastards?"

"Don't act big 'cause you're strapped."

"_Act_ big? Bitch, please. I _am _big. You wanna test your luck, boy?"

"…" They all started to back off at that, giving Naruto one last stare before leaving for good.

"Thanks," he said with gratefulness. "Didn't know what I was gonna have to do…"

"It's no problem. Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, got another gig tonight. A few, actually."

"Want a lift?"

He looked up at her for a moment, momentarily unsure of whether to trust this beautiful stranger with a loaded gun on her thigh. But something told him that she wasn't a bad person at all. "Yeah, if you can give me one."

"No problem. I'll help you with your things," she said with a smile.

"Ah, it's okay. I'll be fine, trust me."

"Oh…alright. Want me to pull up 'round back?"

"Yeah, much appreciated."

She nodded and stepped out to retrieve her car, an indigo convertible with silver rims. The valet drove it right to her and received a handsome tip as she drove to the back of the club, where Naruto was waiting. He neatly stashed his gear in the trunk before hopping in as she took off.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ino Yamanaka."

"Wait…_that_ Ino Yamanaka?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…you're an amazing musician! I mean, I heard your singing, it's awesome!"

"I didn't think you had…that's interesting. I did it a real long time ago, anyways. Those days are probably over…"

"Well, I don't know about that. Maybe you could try it again some time, unless there's really something stopping you."

She sighed. "There isn't…but I'm just not up to it at this time. What about you? What's your goal?"

"Well, I want to get on the scratching circuit. You know, competitions, shows, things like that. I'm just a DJ right now, but…I'll get there, count on it."

"I know you will…"

"Huh? You do?"

"Yes," Ino replied with sadness. "But, once you get there…will you still be yourself?"

"Of course!"

She stopped the car on one side of the road. "You're absolutely sure?" she said, looking straight into his eyes. They were searching for something from him. Something she had been missing for a long time.

He steeled his eyes and stared right back into hers. "I won't change, not for anybody or anything, and I never go back on my word. Never."

There it was.

Hope.

A smile spread across her face. "Got a phone?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Pass it here."

He did so, curious as to what she wanted to do. She held her palm pilot at arms length and a beeping sound was heard briefly. "Done and done. You have my number."

"Oh…uh, thanks."

"It's no problem. Call me when you feel like it, for advice, for anything. You've been watching the events, right?"

"Watching?"

"On television, duh."

"I don't have a TV."

She raised an eyebrow. "That so? Well, I'll fix that. Let's just get you to your next gig first, okay?"

"Yep!" Naruto said with enthusiasm.

* * *

><p>"The new mixer hasn't come in, Naruto. They said about two more days."<p>

"Didn't they say that two weeks ago?"

"I think this time's for real, though. Be hopeful."

"Yeah, yeah…anyways, thanks for helping me out, Tenten."

"No worries. Stay out of trouble, yeah?"

"Promise."

"Good. Bye, Naruto."

He flipped his phone closed to end the call, and lay back on his couch, watching the repeats of scratch battles from days past. The competition looked fierce at first, but he soon realized that people like Itachi and Sasuke were in a tier of their own. Everyone else could be outdone, one way or another. He just had to test himself in battle and see how everything went.

Ino was an artist and repertoire executive, having left her singing career behind when she was younger. She never explained why, but it seemed to be something painful to talk about. Naruto didn't dare push the issue.

She also said that he could tour the company she worked at, Leaf City Records. One of the largest record companies in the world, LRC was home to famous artists of many different styles, and also seemed to be big on family acts and successions. Families such as the rock-oriented Inuzukas, the classically trained Hyuuga, and the experimentally inclined Aburame all set up shop at the record company for many generations, producing scores of hit albums all the way. If he could meet at least some of them, that would be really cool, he thought.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts, and he moved to get it.

Naruto started to regret his decision as soon as he made it.

In front of him was a man with spiky orange hair, his eyes seemingly staring right into the young man. He had piercings on his face, with several through his nose, and wore a black cloak with red clouds on it. Naruto felt his feet frozen into place…he couldn't do anything but stare back in fear.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he said in an imposing tone. "It looks like I've found you at last."


End file.
